Top 10 tips on how to stay in shape over christmas…

Top 10 tips for staying in shape over Christmas

1. Balance any late nights out with rest, relaxation and early nights. I.e. have fun when you want to, replenish yourself when you can

2. Eat liver friendly foods. Sluggish livers are a recipe for disaster this time of year as they deal with excess alcohol and sweet things. Everyday, eat lots of greens like spinach, kale, watercress and broccoli and lemons are also fantastic, add fresh lemon to water, or drizzle over food with olive oil.

3. Have a vegetable juice every morning. It will boost immunity, give your body what it needs nutrients-wise and will also help keep hunger pangs at bay. Have on an empty stomach – my favourite is – Spinach, celery, cucumber, carrot, beetroot, a small apple and 1 or 2 peeled lemons.

4. Exercise is essential this time of year to balance out the extra calories we all consume. It doesn’t need to be hardcore, in fact, power walking for 45 to 90mins a day depending on your time, not only help burn calories, but helps digestion and the body to flush out toxins

5. Choose savoury foods and snacks over sweet ones. Eating sugar makes you want to eat more sugar. A cup cake has on average seven teaspoons of sugar compared to a small glass of white wine having one. Swap sweeties for nuts, crudities and olives or heavy laden desserts with a small amount of cheese.

6. Eat slowly and savour your food. Most people are undernourished and over-fed and the last 30 years of the dieting culture have encouraged women especially to fill up and be stuffed, rather than feeling satisfied. Eat smaller amounts of the things you truly love, instead of eating a stack of things you’re not even mindful about.

7. Look at your diary for December and make sure you’re in control over what social functions you have, where you can fit your training in and where that all important rest is. I like to print off a December calendar from my computer and write everything in. Colour coordinating it, can really help you see visually, the times you need to be careful at.

8. Have controlled indulgences. For me I choose to indulge in seafood, good wine and some nice cheese. As a result (and because I know I can eat some of the things I love), I find it effortless to turn down the things I like but can do without, like mince pies and chocolates

9. Be social-savvy. Really look at your social functions. Do youw ant to go to all of them, or could you move some back to January. Many people pack their December and then crash at the time we want to be feeling our best, actually at Christmas! Many people feel the same and as January is a quiet month, people are often quite happy to hook up at the weekend in the day time as opposed to squeezing in another late night when you’d actually benefit from some extra sleep!

10. Finally, drink as much still water as you can and eat as many raw foods and water based foods. It’s easy to forget but as you load up on boxes of wine, buy some bottles of evian and make sure you get through 2 litres a day. Have salad or vegetables with every meal, and even if you are having a few crisps and dips, make sure you have some raw veggies like carrots, peppers etc. It all adds up ad your body will thank you for it!

Most of all of course, have an amazing time! Christmas is about creating happy memories and chilling out 😮

Janey Holliday runs Fit for a Princess, providing outdoor bootcamps and Personal Training for women as well as Making Things Easy – the online coaching hub for women.

Her festive Food Management Made Easy – 3 part webinar series – is now just £10, where Janey goes through everything you need to know to stay in shape over Christmas.